


Adam's Scary but not-as-scary-as-they-assumed Boyfriend

by nakadoo



Series: Adam and his Surprisingly Normal College Life [2]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: I just wanted to write more about my OCs honestly, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-06 05:37:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8736862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakadoo/pseuds/nakadoo
Summary: Adam's friends get to know Ronan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Literally just wrote this for my ocs :^)) I mean, there's still Pynch fluff in there so :^))))

The farmer— no, _Ronan Lynch_ , they had to remind themselves— was not as scary as they thought he was. Sure he had a face that spelled trouble and a grin that was taunting and almost offensive, but it was almost too easy to overlook those when he held his pet raven in his arms, cooing at her, or when he glances over at Adam like he's staring at the most beautiful thing in the world. No, they rather like Ronan Lynch.

He's still an asshole though.

Julius had been wary. It was funny to see him so skittish and nervous when he was usually the picture of confidence even around strangers. But even just sitting next to Ronan made him nervous and it wasn't just because he was ridiculously good looking.

"He doesn't bite," Adam commented gently, jokingly, as he joined the table where the rest of his friends were seated, across from Ronan and beside Jennifer. He didn't know that he'd subsume joy from watching his friends squirm under Ronan's almost aggressive presence; he'd gotten used to it, and the rest of the Glendower Gang got used to Ronan too. But outsiders, new people, didn't know how Ronan worked, didn't know that he was such a complicated person.

Jennifer seemed to be enjoying herself. Elias was neutral. Julius looked like he was about to spontaneously combust. Adam took it as his minuscule revenge for talking about his sexuality behind his back (not that he actually cared, it was just entertaining to poke fun at Julius).

"Not much," Ronan added and wagged his eyebrows suggestively. Otherwise he stayed quite, poking at his food and eating slowly. He was not used to being around too many people. After high school he had resided at the Barns, trying to make crops grow, trying to figure out how to wake up the cows, painting the old sheds, and basically trying to make everything work like they used to. Trying to bring back life into the place he grew up in, to make it a home again (he hopes one day that Adam can call it home too).

He trusted Adam's judgment. The friends he's chosen to surround himself with must mean that they're starting to grow important to him, starting to matter to him. If Ronan was a little younger and angrier, he would have metaphorically growled at these strangers, ward them away from Adam, from his own friends. But he knew better, and the jealousy that might have grown before wasn't present at all. Adam trusted these people, and though begrudgingly, he was willing to let them gain his trust too.

Jennifer watched the boyfriends like magic was happening before her eyes. Their banter was natural and funny and it was almost as if they could communicate with their eyes alone. She was privy to the fact that, though they came off as best friends to the unassuming bystander, their furtive looks every so often spoke volumes that didn't even have to be spoken out loud. They were very much in love, that was obvious, and though she was more or less emotionally detached, she let herself be tethered to the world through her friends' happiness. She sighed dreamily.

Elias didn't really know how he felt about the whole thing. As far as he was concerned, he rather liked this Ronan guy simply because he looked tough. He could appreciate that in a guy. Every time he let his gaze fall on Ronan, the guy in question would catch his eyes and stare back almost challenging; his eyes were the bluest eyes Elias had ever seen. He flicked a stray pea from his plate to Adam's boyfriend and it bounced off the front of his shirt harmlessly. "How long're you staying again?" he asked.

"A week," Ronan replied, distastefully looking at the pea that offended him and then at the guy who flicked it to him in the first place. He flicked the pea back, it hit Elias right between his eyes. "I win."

Elias rolled his eyes but conceded. It was a good shot.

"Uh so," Julius tried, the only uncomfortable person at the table. "How'd you guys meet?" it sounded stupid as soon as it left his mouth and he wished that it was somehow possible to literally eat his own words.

"In a dream," Adam supplied.

Ronan rolled his eyes but his heart gave a flutter anyway. "School."

"Oh," Julius muttered, visibly shrinking back into himself.

"Have mercy on him!" Jennifer wailed. While she usually was one of the first people to make fun of Julius whenever possible, she knew where the line was and she knew when Julius was starting to take things too personally even though he shouldn't. "He's but a simple guy, he can't handle being around so many attractive people at once. He might short circuit."

Ronan raised an eyebrow. Adam hid a snort behind his hand. Elias reached over to pat Julius' hand reassuringly.

"Anyway," Jennifer continued when no one else spoke. "I hear you like to street race. Tell me about it."

Ronan raised an eyebrow again, though this time it was in curious acknowledgement. "You race?"

Jennifer shook her head no. "I'd like to know how to though. Like all those tricks and shit, how to do a donut and all that. Like that one movie, what was it called?" she snapped her fingers at Elias, he always finished her sentences for her when she couldn't do it herself.

"Fast and furious?"

"Yes!"

"That was a shit movie," Ronan commented.

"I still want to learn," she insisted.

"Don't encourage him," Adam said disapprovingly.

"Oh come on, Parrish," Ronan said, beginning to really relax now. "I'm not in school anymore anyway, it's not like I can get suspended or expelled. Live a little."

"Gansey would be disappointed."

"Dad's not here, don't rat me out," Ronan said back at him with a smirk on his face. He rested his elbows on the table, leaning his weight forward to get right into Adam's personal space. "I'll let you ride shotgun."

"I'm always shotgun whether you like it or not," Adam countered. "And lets be real, Lynch. You like it when I'm shotgun."

Ronan shrugged his shoulders, relenting. He does like it when Adam's sitting beside him.

It was so refreshing for Adam to be able to have ridiculous banter with Ronan without the threat of Gansey's death looming over their shoulders, without the reminder that his father was anywhere near. This was part of a life that he'd always imagined but never dreamed he'd be a part of so soon. If he was a religious sort of guy, he'd be counting his blessings. He almost feels like he has more than his lifetime was allowed but he wasn't going to give that up.

He placed his hand down, right on top of Ronan's in a open display of his affections. He was happy.

"I can't tell if you're flirting or not," Julius pipped up. He had mixed feelings when it came to Ronan but his feelings for Adam were pretty clear: he just wanted to see the guy genuinely happy and Ronan was able to make him like that just by being there. He corrected himself at the questioning glare that Ronan gave him "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that. Flirt away!"

"I can flirt with you if you're feeling lonely," Elias said with a flat look to his face. He reached over and placed his hand over Julius', similar to how Adam was holding Ronan's hand. "No romo though."

Jennifer placed her own hand on top of Elias'. "No romo," she agreed.

Ronan sent a glance towards Adam, his look asking _"seriously?"_

Adam shrugged his shoulders. The look he sent back said _"seriously."_

\---

Despite his earlier protests, Adam found himself in an empty parking lot with his friends and his boyfriend. A lot of the other students went home for the break, leaving little to no one to intervene with their ridiculous new bonding activity.

"Alright," Ronan said, slamming his body into the driver's seat of Jennifer's small car. He barely fit even after he adjusted the seat. "Get in losers."

Adam watched him with his lips pursed in contemplation. After a moment of hesitation, he opened the seat on the passenger's side and got in.

"Alright!" Jennifer cheered in agreement, pulling the back door open to get in. "You comin' or nah?" she asked her remaining two friends who stood nervously outside of her car.

"I'll pass," Elias answered, already taking a few steps back. "You're car is way too small to fit all of us."

"We're tiny!" Jennifer insisted. She and Julius were, in fact, quite tiny for their ages. Jennifer took her size with pride, Julius was the type to insist that he'd still get a last minute growth spurt. "You and Adam're the giants between the four of us."

"I'm actually quite normal in size, thanks," Adam supplied.

Julius shook his head as well, stepping back to join Elias. He already felt carsick just thinking about being thrown around in that tiny metal box. "I'm good."

"Suit yourselves," Jennifer relented, slamming her door with just a bit too much force. "Anyway, show me how it's done, farmer John," she said to Ronan, looking at where Ronan positioned his hands feet. She learned best through example.

Adam fiddled with the seat belt and braced himself.

"Don't call me that," Ronan grunted, testing the feel of the stick shift in his hands, the clutch and gas and breaks at his feet. He gripped the steering wheel and nodded. He smiled at Jennifer through the rear view mirror. "Hope you're fine with getting your brains squashed."

"Squash one, squash two," Adam muttered.

Ronan grinned widely. He started the car.

\---

Ronan had a few opinions for Adam's new friends.

Though it had only been three days since he got there, he was beginning to find that he didn't dislike Jennifer as much as he thought he would. She looked like, no offense meant, like a bitch upon his first impression but the moment she asked about racing he reconsidered. She reminded him a lot of Blue in the sense that she dressed in a strange way and in the sense that she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She was, however, more agreeable and easier to coerce into committing mischief.

She got annoyingly talkative though, but he knew a thing or two about how to tune people out so it was tolerable.

Elias was quiet and didn't really talk unless spoken to but Ronan came to the conclusion that he was only like that around strangers, still being careful before fully showing what he was truly like. He had observant eyes and careful way of talking. Ronan didn't really like it but he didn't hate it either. He seemed to be the voice of reason out of the three of them though and, since he was pretty damned tall, he had no difficulties in hindering his friends' actions by grabbing them by the neck of their clothes like he was handling small kittens.

The Julius guy seemed pretty jittery at first, nervous and shy even, on the first day. But after a couple more hours he started to become boisterous and loud and talkative. He wasn't talkative in the way that Jennifer was, at least not all the time. He knew a little bit about everything and it made it easier for him to get along with strangers. He was a good listener, Ronan noticed, as he seemed completely encompassed in whatever conversation he was brought into.

Adam pressed a can of iced coffee against the side of Ronan's head. "Thinking?"

"I don't drink that shit," Ronan replied as he eyed the coffee.

"It's not for you, it's mine," Adam answered back. He sat down next to Ronan, nudging his shoulders against him. "So," he asked as he cracked the can open. "What do you think of them?"

"Pretty annoying," Ronan answered honestly. They were annoying but tolerable. He didn't hate them at least. "They're going to drive you crazy eventually."

Adam chucked quietly before sighing. "Yeah, because compared to a boyfriend who can pull things from his dreams, they're pretty crazy huh."

In the silence of the abandoned school corridors, Ronan laughed. Though there was no one to overhear their conversation now, he couldn't help but let his voice fall to a whisper. "Missed you."

From somewhere across the campus, they heard the distant voice Julius shrieking in anxiety and the voice of Jennifer cheering, the sound of skidding wheels against asphalt accompanying her laughter.

"If you answered your stupid phone, you'd probably miss me less," Adam chided but leaned in towards Ronan so that he could press a kiss to his cheek.

"I'd miss you irregardless, missing you less doesn't do anything," Ronan argued.

Adam smiled. "I missed you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I drew Jennifer and Julius](http://nakadoo.tumblr.com/post/153989697924/jennifer-and-julius) but I've yet to draw Elias.
> 
> Julius and Jennifer actually have a lot of backstory to them already. Elias,,,, Not so much yet,,, He's basically the Big Brother Friend as of now.
> 
> Idk if im gonna write more about the trio though. i talk a lot about them with my friends though HAHA.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to talk about my ocs :P

"Adam."

Adam looked up from the book he was reading, raising an eyebrow at his friend's voice. "What's up?"

Elias invited himself into Adam's dorm room and sat at his bed just as Adam shifted his body to face him. In his hand he had his cellphone. "Where's Mr. Ronan?"

Adam gave him a wry smile. "You know, you don't have to call him Mister. It makes him sound a lot older than he is," he replied. He closed his book, deciding that he'd studied enough for now. "He's out with his brother but he'll be back later. Why?" It was a little bit peculiar because Elias didn't seem to show too much interest in Ronan ever since they first met. They got along more or less well considering it was Ronan though.

"Ma wanted to talk to him," Elias replied with a shrug. He raised a hand towards Adam in silent askance for a moment as he lifted his phone to his ear. "He's not here. He left— Yeah, yeah. I know. Adam's here though, do you want to—"

Adam shook his head vigorously. No, he mouthed grandly.

"Nevermind, he's in a hurry. Yeah, I'll call again later if you want me to. Tell Nay' I said hi. Yes Ma, I will. Love you too," Elias spoke to his phone before hanging up. He tossed the device to the other side of the bed and sighed, smiling sheepishly at Adam. "My mom says hi."

"Yes, I know," Adam replied.

Elias was the only other person besides Blue that he knew got along well with his mother. The relationship he had with his parents almost made it seem like they were best friends rather parent and child and Adam sometimes found it incredibly hard to believe that a normal, healthy family life was something that people could have. And Elias' parents were so loving and generous, so much so that they treated Adam and the rest of their friend group as if they were family.

"They might pass by," Elias told him. "With food. Probably a lot of food," Elias added.

"Oh goodie," Adam sighed, leaning against his chair heavily. Elias' parents always insisted that he ate more, that he was a growing boy who needed his vitamins to become strong. They often treated him like he was so much younger than he was, and the only reason he wasn't upset with it was because that's how they treated all of Elias' friends.

The mental image of Ronan being babied by them was amusing though.

"They want to meet him," Elias added more. "They're very happy for you."

Adam rubbed a hand over his face, embarrassed but grateful all the same. He was not used to having positive parental figures in his life and the Dimasalang family had welcomed him with open arms as if he were some sort of prodigal son. "How will they feel when they find out my boyfriend looks like he could beat you up?"

Elias made a vague hand gesture of dismissal. "They'll love him," he assured his friend. "I told them he looks like a thug—"

"What?!"

"But they trust you to pick a good person." He smiled teasingly at Adam and stood up, scooping his phone with his spindly fingers before dropping it into his pocket. He ruffled the top of Adam's head as he usually did. "And they'll rip him apart if they deem him unworthy of your love."

"Jesus," Adam laughed. "I'd love to see that happen."

 

—

 

"So did he make him talk to auntie yet?" Jennifer asked a little later in the day, sitting across Adam at the little booth of the coffee shop that they were regulars at. She had asked him to help her study, which was a miracle in itself, so Adam couldn't say no even if he wanted to catch a few more winks of sleep. "He doesn't look it but that boy loves to talk to his moms a lot."

"Ronan's not here," Adam replied as he flipped his notebook open to the current lesson that Jennifer didn't quite understand. He slid his notes to her across the table and watched as her eyes darted from the top to the bottom, from one page to another. She read fast but her comprehension skills took a little bit more time. "And even if he was, I doubt he'd want to. He doesn't really like phone calls."

"Oh right, I forgot about that," she said. "But I think they'll like him, you know."

"That's what Elias said."

"Well, they like me. And they like Julius," Jennifer enumerated. "They like you too."

"They like a lot of people," Adam agreed.

She shrugged and nodded her head. "You don't have to worry then."

Adam's face scrunched up in mild confusion. He wasn't worried at all, it's not like the Dimasalang parents were his parents even if they acted it. If they decided they didn't like Ronan, that wasn't really his problem at all. He's not entirely sure why he's finding himself falling into the introducing-my-boyfriends-to-my-parents trope when his actual parents were well aware of who Ronan Lynch was. "I'm not worried."

She shrugged again. "I don't know man, when it comes to Elias' moms you never really want to disappoint them, you know? They don't even expect anything, they literally just want us to be happy. It's weird that they treat us like we're their kids but I'm not complaining."

"Ronan's not going to disappoint," he defended. "And if he did well, I'm not going to stop seeing him."

"You tell'em," Jeniffer joked. "Going through a rebellious stage, are we? Pretty badass, Parrish."

"It's weird when you call me Parrish," Adam snorted. "Anyway, stop distracting yourself. Finish the reading."

—

Adam rolled his eyes. There Julius was, sprawled across his bed like he owned it while he chatted animatedly with someone on the phone. Adam closed the door behind him and sighed. "Is that auntie?"

"Yep!" Julius answered happily, sitting up abruptly before pulling the phone away from his ear to put it on speaker phone. "Adam's here! You're on speaker!"

A fuzzy voice from the other end of the phone let out a delighted noise. "Adam! I've heard so much about your boyfriend!"

Adam made a vague noise, somewhere between bashful and irritated. "Yes ma'am, I'm sure you have."

"I keep telling you," Elias' mother said with a huff. "Call me auntie! But anyway, from what Elias has told us he sounds like a charming boy!"

"Even though Eli said he looked like a thug?" Julius asked, bewildered.

"He told us that you looked like a drug addict," auntie said with a laugh. Julius looked scandalized, Adam couldn't hold back a snort. "But we love you despite that!"

"I can't believe this, even to his mothers he talks shit about me," Julius said with a disdainful shake of his head.

"Language, mister!"

"Ah, sorry auntie."

Adam drew an invisible line over his neck, asking Julius to cut him out of the conversation. As much as he liked auntie, he didn't really like talking to her over the phone. Ever since he lost his hearing in his left ear, he didn't like phone calls much in general anymore.

Julius gave him a thumbs up and picked up the phone, switching speaker mode off, before waving goodbye to Adam as he left Adam's dorm room. "I'll see you at dinner!" he called over his shoulder before continuing his conversation with auntie.

Adam sighed heavily.

—

"They want to meet you," Adam said as he watched yet another person drape themselves over his bed. This time though it was Ronan so he didn't mind at all.

Ronan kicked his boots off and they clattered noisily. "You have more friends?"

Adam made an uncertain noise. "Elias' parents."

Ronan made a confused face. He liked the Elias kid mostly because he was quiet and direct and on more than one occasion they had played games of arm wrestling and found that they were evenly matched. When Ronan had mentioned he knew how to box, Elias looked much like he wanted to learn. "Why?"

"They like meeting Elias' friends."

"That's really fucking weird."

"I know!" Adam agreed in exasperation. "I know, but they're nice people."

Ronan shrugged. Meeting new people was still a difficult thing for him. Meeting parents was something he didn't really think he wanted to do. He didn't really like Gansey's parents, and he hated Adam's parents, and Blue's family... Well, they were annoying but hard to dislike. "Whatever."

Adam shrugged too, laying on his bed beside Ronan. "Whatever," he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe i should just talk about them on tumblr lmao
> 
> Elias has two moms :^)) His moms love Elias' friends almost as much as they love their actual son. They always bring Too Much Food on holidays and so their little quad usually dont have to even go to the cafeteria for a week when the Dimasalang parents pass by.
> 
> Julius gets along very well with both of Elias' parents. Jennifer is a little weirded out by how affectionate they are but shes warming up to them. Adam too thinks they're very weird but they're just so nice and friendly that he cant really say that he dislikes them.
> 
> Rip Ronan, the Dimasalang parents are going to coddle him


	3. Chapter 3

Adam had fallen asleep while watching a movie that was required for his English class. He'd been watching with Jennifer, Julius, Elias, and even Ronan; Julius and Jennifer debated about it for the most part, Ronan provided stupid and lewd commentary when it was essentially unneeded. Elias discussed with Adam usefully for the first 30 minutes before Adam fell asleep, always tired despite how much free time he had as compared to when he was still at Aglionby. Julius and Jennifer had finally quieted down, but that was only because Adam's fatigue was contagious. They were asleep on the floor curled up against each other while Adam occupied the bed.

Ronan draped a blanket over his boyfriend. The window was wedged open and awaiting for Chainsaw's return from wherever it was that she went when she took flight. It was a charming sight to behold, to see Adam sleeping so restfully, trustful enough of the people with him that felt it was safe to let them see his vulnerable side. Adam was a little more open now, a little less uptight, and Ronan didn't know if he felt happy for him or upset that there were now more people who could see Adam when he was like this.

"Want to get out of here?" Elias asked. Ronan had almost forgotten he was there. The same as Ronan, Elias had draped a blanket over his friends asleep on the floor. "You can take my room I guess, unless you want to sleep next to Adam?"

Ronan shook his head, shoving his way passed Elias and towards the door. He knocked his knuckles quietly against the door frame as if testing it's stability before opening the door. "I don't sleep," he said over his shoulder as he walked into the hallway before jerking his head to the side. Insomnia was a friend that didn't leave him, though it was no longer due to the fear of dreaming of his own death, but just a habit of his body. "Show me where to buy booze around here."

Elias looked at his shoes for a moment before striding after him, locking the door behind him quietly. He followed after Ronan, who'd move the instant he did, down the hallway, into the staircase and down the flight of stairs. They exited the building together, the night air chilly against their skin. Elias was thankful for the fact of his sweater but didn't understand how unaffected Ronan was of the cold. "I'm not legal," Elias remembered suddenly as Ronan continued to trudge towards the parking lot where his BMW was waiting for him.

"Neither am I," Ronan replied with a grin.

They drove in silence apart from Elias giving him directions to the nearby convenience store. Elias wasn't even surprised when they were at the cash register and Ronan flashed what he assumed was a fake I.D.

"Want one?" Ronan asked, offering a bottle as they sat outside in the parking lot of the convenience store. There were only a few other people lingering outside, smoking or drinking just as they were about to.

Elias shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Don't drink too much though, you're driving us back."

Ronan looked unimpressed. "You drive us back," he argued distastefully. He had promised that he wasn't going to drive under influence anymore. But he really needed a drink to help him relax.

Elias held the beer in his hands for a moment. "I can't drive."

Ronan raised an eyebrow. "Confiscated license?"

"I have," Elias said rather dramatically, as he tried and failed to open his beer bottle by scraping the cap against the floor, "no knowledge on how to drive. Only bumper cars."

"Driving is essentially the same as bumper cars," Ronan told him, taking the bottle from Elias' hands and opening it for him. "Just minus the bumping part."

Elias shrugged indefinitely and took a sip of the beer.

"Well then," Ronan started. He took a big sip of his beer and pulled his keys out of his pocket, dangling it in front of Elias' face. "Maybe now is a good time to learn."

"I'm going to crash your car," Elias argued but Ronan was already making a beeline towards the BMW.

"I'll kill you if you do," Ronan replied. He tossed the keys and Elias caught them with both hands, effectively having his bottle of beer crash to the floor. The bottle did not shatter but most of it's contents were gone. "You're more sober than I am, it would be irresponsible of you to let me drive." He got into the passenger's side of the car, looking up defiantly and expectantly at Elias.

Elias sighed. He got in.

 

 

Ronan had spent 10 minutes explaining everything Elias needed to know before Elias even put the keys into the ignition.

Elias managed to start the car perfectly. He backed up, as instructed, but the car stuttered to a stop and the engine stalled. They didn't even move more than a foot away from where they were parked. "We're going to be here all night."

"I'm a good teacher," Ronan insisted. "I taught Parrish."

"Adam's smart," Elias argued. "He was good with cars to begin with."

"Stop complaining and just listen."

It took another 10 minutes for Ronan to explain everything again. He was done with one bottle of beer and moving onto the next.

Finally Elias had managed to actually back out of the parking lot and onto the road that lead back to the dorms. There were no other cars, which made it easier for him not to bump into anything. Ronan leaned back sighed.

Three minutes into the drive, Elias spoke again. "I like you."

Ronan was rather nonplussed but didn't make it obvious. "Sorry, I'm already seeing someone," he joked, though it was true.

"I don't mean like that," Elias said as his face scrunched up in distaste. "You make Adam happy. I've never seen him this happy before."

Ronan stayed silent. He did not know what to say to that. Elias took this silence as permission to keep talking.

"Adam doesn't really like talking about himself. He doesn't really like talking much about his life before meeting us," he said. He looked straight ahead, hands at 2 and 10. "Except when it came to you. And his other friends. The only thing we know about Adam's past is you."

Ronan grumbled. He was not surprised that Adam didn't share information about his abuse, of his struggles. But he was tremendously surprised that Adam talked about him at all. It left a ridiculous fluttering feeling in his chest, and he felt a warmth spread through his body and he was pretty sure it wasn't because of the alcohol in his system.

"And I understand that some people may look and act normal on the outside but silently carry heavy burdens on their shoulders," Elias continued to explain. Adam reminded him of his mother when he was younger. Hard working and tired all the time, trying to smile for him always even though he knew that she wasn't nearly as happy as she seemed. 

"I just..." Elias shrugged. He was so thankful for the fact that Adam had Ronan, that he had his other friends. When his mother was practically going through hell, all she had was a child to take care of on her own. "Thank you for being in Adam's life, I guess is what I'm saying."

"Man," Ronan complained. He kicked the glove compartment in his car. His actions were always louder than his words. "Are you the one inebriated or is that me? I think I forgot."

Elias made a "pltbb" sound with his tongue. Whatever seriousness he brought with that conversation was immediately diffused.

"I don't hate you," Ronan said after a while.

"Thank you," Elias said promptly.

"There are four categories that people fall into," Ronan explained and then enumerated on each of his fingers. "People I don't care for, people I hate, people I don't hate, and people I like. Congratulations, I don't hate you."

"I think you're missing one more category."

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

"The fifth one, I think, is for the people you love. I guess, you know, for Adam."

Ronan made a noise. Elias held back a snort. The BMW made a noise too, and it stuttered to a stop, the engine stalled again, and died. They were so close to the dorm parking lot too.

"Get out," Ronan commanded.

Elias looked bewildered. "Are you making me walk home?"

"No, get out. You're ruining my car. I'll drive."

All the way back to the dorms, Ronan scolded Elias for being a shit driver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RONAN'S GONNA HAVE A HEART TO HEART WITH ALL OF THEM :^)) and then ill finally end this fic yes ok
> 
> Elias Dimasalang is Filipino :^)) with two moms, as ive mentioned. Elias' birth mom was like Adam in the sense that she worked several jobs a day to support her one and only son. Elias, empathetic for his mom, picked up odd jobs too so that he could help her out and feel a little less guilty. Then his mom met her future wife who was, well, better off than they were. And then his moms started a small business together that is still slowly growing. Elias is on a partial scholarship now :^))


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hEY so this is gonna become a "i write about my ocs and i guess adam and ronan are taking the backseats now" kind of fic so im prolly gonna remove the pynch tag so i wont like,,, clog up the main tag lmao

It wasn't an unusual thing for someone to try to catch his attention; not only did he have an award winning personality, he had a nice face that could possibly be on magazine covers if he tried just a little bit harder to amplify his already natural good looks. If people weren't looking for him to hang out, they were looking for him to ask for help with their studies. He had a way of teaching that made it easier for people to understand.

And though it wasn't unusual for him to be sought out by blockmates and sometimes even strangers, it was pretty unusual to find someone leaning against the door to his dorm room.

Julius pursed his lips in thought. The stranger didn't look like someone he'd seen on campus, which was kind of weird since Julius had very keen memory. Then again, it could be a student from another department or an exchange student, so he couldn't really say for certain. In all honesty, he didn't want to deal with the stranger at the moment. He was emotionally exhausted and he still had to work a midnight shift for a co-worker who'd called in sick— but he didn't want to be rude, especially to someone who didn't deserve it, so he put on his best smile and approached the stranger with a little wave and a wiggle of his fingers. "Hey," he greeted casually. "Are you looking for someone?"

"Julius Malich?" the stranger asked as he stood up carefully and pulled his earbuds out, rolling the wire quickly around his knuckles before tucking them into his pocket. He looked of Asian decent, but not like how Elias or his mother looked— Julius wasn't too sure and he didn't want to think about it too long or else he'd end up sounding a little bit too racist. The stranger, though he looked as if he were glaring at Julius, gave off an anxious vibe, almost as if he were nervous about something.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, that's me!" Julius confirmed, sticking his hand out for a handshake. "So did you need something?" he asked as he pulled his hand back. "Like, do you wanna go over some notes or something? I don't think I've seen you in any of my classes though, sorry if I forgot your face," he chuckled as he moved towards his door, unlocking it and pushing it open. He stayed at the entrance though, not completely comfortable with inviting a stranger in unless said stranger gave him a reason.

"I'm Byeon Chin-mae," the stranger introduced carefully, though he kept his eyes locked on Julius' with intent, focus, and determination. "I have something to say to you, and I probably should've thought about it more before you came, but I didn't" he rambled then shrugged. "So I'm just going to say it straight out."

Julius shifted his weight onto his other foot in nervous movement. "Okay?" He wasn't usually put off by strangers and how weird some of them were, but the kid in front of him had a nervous energy to him that it was almost palpable and Julius couldn't shake the feeling off.

"I don't want to shock you," the kid continued, his hands raised like he was nonchalantly bracing for impact. "And it may sound like a huge lie but I swear to you it's the truth."

"Right..."

Chin-mae took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm... I'm your brother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway obviously julius is my favorite of the trio hAHA


End file.
